I was thinking today about why we care. Maybe a better way to ask, and really the question that i asked was why do I care. This question can include a lot of different things. Why do i care about what people think about me? Why do i care about how people feel? Why do I care about getting to know other people when they don't care to get to know me? We uphold the great people of history that put others before themselves. Jesus spoke of being a servant and encouraged putting others first. Gandhi and Mother Teresa cared for those in who society left to die. But why? Why do we want to be like them?
The reality is that our lives revolve around ourselves. I have come to realize how terribly self-centered i am. I want to come and people to ask me how i am doing and care about my story and my life. This is not a bad desire, perhaps there is nothing more human than to be wanted and to desire to be loved. But why do we think that it is necessity for us to care for others? Why do we ask how people are and ask people about their lives when most of those people we completely do not think about and care about when we are not in their company. Maybe our conscience requires feeling like it has caused us to step outside of our comfort zone in order to make someone else feel better.
I guess I don't understand why we care...why does the need to make other people feel better cause us such great concern? Most people dont care about others. Humanity is beautiful...we truly are beautiful creatures capable of the most wonderful acts of kindness and love. But why...
Cafe
4 comments:
I think when we are in front of people face-to-face we really ask how people are doing out of a pressure to be polite. I'm sure there are a few out there that really ask out of genuine concern.
I don't have an answer to your question, but I think deeep down inside of us God has placed an aching to care for his creation. Seeking to know others more only leads us to know about our intelligent creator.
Imagine if we lived in a world were people didn't care? I'm scared to think of the repercussions. Think about somebody getting into a car accident and nobody coming to their rescue, because the situation does not concern them. I think we care partially because it makes us feel alive when we do it and partially because we know that we would all be lonely creatures without our fellow man.
Ok this has nothing to do with your post here, but per your request...the wish has been granted :)
Well, in my opinion "How are you?" became way to casual in this culture. Please hear me right, I am not dogging American culture but it seems like we use that question out of politeness rather than genuine care.
I don't know the answer to your question but I have my thoughts. I think I agree with Layne, God created us for relationships. It's in the core of who we are as human beings and without "care" you can't develop true relationships. I can speak for myself only. I care because I love, because I cherish a certain person, because, and I don't want to sound religious at all, God cares about certain people or issues or people groups.
I agree with Elena that "How are you?" is used more often as another form of "Hello", particularly here in the South. However, having worked with certain people who don't even offer perfunctory statements of caring like these, I'd much rather be around people who ask and are not completely sincere than around people who don't ask at all. Just a thought.
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